Fri 23 August 2019:
Syria’s army encircled rebels in a cluster of towns in northwest Syria’s Hama countryside, imposing a “choking siege” and marching deeper into the pocket, state-run Ikhbariya TV said on Friday.
Government forces seized a dozen hills and expanded their control of a main highway that runs through the area and stretches from the capital Damascus to Aleppo city, the channel said.
The live broadcast came from the nearby town of Khan Sheikhoun in soutern Idlib province.
Sources told Al Jazeera that Khan Sheikoun and much of the surrounding areas in northern Hama, which includes a few towns that rebels have held for years, were now either under army control or within its firing range.
Several rebel officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said pro-government forces, backed by Russia, recovered the town of Kafr Zita from rebels who had controlled it since 2012.
A Turkish military post in the nearby town of Morek was now also encircled, the UK-based war monitor and state TV said.
The besieged area is home to tens of thousands of civilians, as well as armed rebel fighters and Turkish troops.
Opposition fighters withdrew from Khan Sheikhoun on Tuesday amid the government offensive launched in late April to retake the country’s last major rebel stronghold.
The withdrawal from Khan Sheikhoun, one of the northwestern province’s largest towns that has been in rebel hands since 2014, came after days of fierce fighting between rebel factions and Russia-backed forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.
Khan Sheikhoun was the scene of an infamous chemical attack in April 2017 that killed more than 80 people, including many children. UN investigators said Syrian government forces were behind the attack.
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